Bud Carpenter

About Bud

Bud Carpenter has been a follower of Jesus Christ for the last 40 years. He has been involved in many mens ministries in His local church and in para church groups such as Young Life. Bud had a furniture and cabinet restoration business for 32 years restoring furniture for historic home, museums, and private homeowners. It was once said that “it will be great when you are able to help restore the hearts of men just like you have restored the broken and abused furniture all these years.”

Towards the end of his business career , Bud felt that God had a new plan for his life and that He was to invest his time into the lives of men so that they could come to a deeper understanding of their faith or begin a relationship with God for the first time. Bud had been doing this a lot during his life but now God wanted his full time attention devoted to this plan. He joined Priority One Foundation to accomplish this mission.

Bud has been married to his wife, Mary Stewart Carpenter, for 38 years and have three daughters, Kelly, Marifrasier, and Kathryn and two grand daughters, Kennedy and Vaughan.

About Priority One

Priority One works directly with men…right where they are. Priority One Foundation exists to introduce Christ into the lives of men and challenge them to make him the foundation of their priorities. Founded in 1981 as a small local ministry, today the ministry extends throughout the Mid-Atlantic States. They work through personal involvement, discipleship and relationship building, encouraging small group involvement, sponsoring men’s weekend retreats and golf outings, and helping churches to develop meaningful men’s ministry.

Bud aims to accomplish this mission through three means of engagement:

Watch the story of Priority One.

one on one

One-to-One Mentoring

Bud meets with men one-on-one to create a safe place to ask questions, for exploration into how to grow deeper in their faith in Jesus Christ, or to talk through life issues.

small-group

Small Groups

Each day of the week Bud meets with a group of men who are sharing life together, exploring the truth of scripture and developing close personal relationship with each other. These groups become a safe place to share life.

relational-retreat

Relational Retreats

Getting away from all the detractions of everyday life is one of the best opportunities to build relationship and to evaluate our priorities. Bud leads 4-5 trips each year for men to evaluate their relationship with God and their priorities.

Testimonials

Bud has been a good friend to my wife and I and has loved me even when I was walking away from Christ. Bud, along with others, have loved me in such a way as to point me directly back to Christ. Bud is a guy who always encourages and is a man’s man who truly loves the hearts of men. Without Bud and others in my life, I would not have seen so clearly that Christ loves me and wants nothing but His best for me and my family.

Craig D.
As men, we often walk through life alone, separated from any real relationships because of our fears, idols or past experiences. I know first hand the exhausting struggle to maintain the appearance of having it “all together” in today’s culture. Over the past several years Bud has taken the time to listen and sympathizes with my struggles, but more importantly, he has taken the time to share the Gospel and the hope we all have in a living encounter with God.

Kevin J.
I delight in the opportunity to acknowledge the wonder and amazement of having experienced God’s wonderful plan for me in placing Bud in, and adding such value to, my life.

Maynard
Bud Carpenter has been a friend, mentor, teacher and brother in Christ. Life gets tough sometimes; particularly when you make bad decisions. Bud has been a source of encouragement and has helped me better understand my role as a Christian husband and leader. I pray God continues to bless his efforts and I cannot thank him enough for the example he has set

George W.
Thank you for your kind words. Your spiritual maturity is such a blessing to all of us and your guidance and insight are so valuable. I am excited about the direction God is leading all of us!

TB
I thank God that you are my friend. You encourage me, you challenge me, you broaden my thinking AND we have always relate to each other with our somewhat warped senses of humor. Thank you for standing beside me over the long haul.

BL
Second, just wanted to say your note of the other day was another great update on your ministry. When you stand back and look at it, it becomes very clear very quickly how God is blessing and using you. Praise God for what He has done and will continue to do as you remain faithful!

PB
I just wanted to throw out a big thank you for all the time and energy you have invested in the Ironman group. You do a superb job juggling the many details as well as the extra personal effort required to lead. So this email is quite simply, a thank you. You are quite appreciated.

LU
You are such a special person to my husband and I can definitely see why. Thank you for helping and caring about him, and thank you for your prayers. What a blessing you are.

Wife of one of the men.

Contribute

Like all ministries, Bud needs the financial support to give him the opportunity to spend time with men in order to encourage, nurture, and disciple them. Your support enables him to continue to help the many men who have already been positively influenced by his ministry and allows him to reach others. You can make a one-time donation online or set up a reoccurring donation below:

Contribute Online

You can also mail a check to: Priority One 2200 W Hamilton St, Ste 204 Allentown, PA 18104

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